Buckle for hair binder

ABSTRACT

A buckle formed of a male buckle member and a female buckle member for joining the ends of a cord member to form a hair binder is disclosed. Each buckle member has an internally threaded rear stub tube and a mounting ring suspended in the rear stub tube for the mounting of any of a variety of cord members.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a hair binder for arranging thehair and, more specifically, to a buckle for hair binder.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 09/033,952 discloses a hair binder invented bythe present inventor. This structure of hair binder is comprised of acord member, and a quick-release hook for joining the ends of the cordmember. The quick-release hook is comprised of a male member and afemale member. The male member is comprised of a first hook block and asecond hook block respectively injection-molded from plastics. The firsthook block and the second hook block each have a springy hook at oneend, plug rods and plug holes at an inner side. The first hook block andthe second hook block are fastened together by plugging the plug rods ofone hook block into the plug holes on the other hook block. The femalemember is comprised of a first receptacle block and a second receptacleblock respectively injection-molded from plastics. The first receptacleblock and the second receptacle block each have a coupling portion atone end for engagement with the springy hooks of the male member, arelease control press portion behind the coupling portion for pressingby hand to disengage the coupling portion from the springy hooks of themale member, plug rods and plug holes at an inner side. The firstreceptacle block and the second receptacle block are fastened togetherby plugging the plug rods of one receptacle block into the plug holes onthe other receptacle block. This structure of hair binder still hassmall drawbacks. Because the male member is comprised of a first hookblock and a second hook block and the female member is comprised of tworeceptacle blocks, the fabrication of the quick-release hook iscomplicated, resulting in high manufacturing cost. Further, the male andfemale members cannot be directly fastened to a cord member having aring at each end for mounting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The present invention has been accomplished under thecircumstances in view. It is one object of the present invention toprovide a buckle for making a hair binder, which is inexpensive tomanufacture. It is another object of the present invention to provide abuckle for making a hair binder, which can be used with any of a varietyof cord members to form a hair binder. According to one aspect of thepresent invention, the buckle comprises a male buckle member and afemale buckle member for fastening to the ends of a cord member. Themale buckle member comprises two spring hooks forwardly extended from afront side thereof and arranged in parallel, and a mounting stub tubebackwardly extended from a rear side thereof and fastened to the firstend of the cord member, The female buckle member comprises twoengagement portions bilaterally disposed at a front for securing thespring hooks of the male buckle member upon insertion of the male bucklemember into the female buckle member, two springy press portionsdisposed at two opposite lateral sides for pressing by hand to disengagethe spring hooks of the male buckle member from the engagement portions,and a mounting stub tube backwardly extended from a rear side thereofand fastened to the second end of the cord member. According to anotheraspect of the present invention, the buckle member and said femalebuckle member each further comprise a mounting ring fixedly located onthe respective rear side and suspended in the respective mounting stubtube. According to still another aspect of the present invention, themounting stub tubes of the male buckle member and the female bucklemember each have an inner thread. According to still another aspect ofthe present invention, the buckle further comprises two eyebolts adaptedto secure the mounting rings of the male buckle member and the femalebuckle member to a respective bolt ring at the ends of a cord member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006]FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a buckle used with a cord memberaccording to the present invention.

[0007]FIG. 2 is a sectional assembly view of the buckle shown in FIG. 1.

[0008]FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing showing the press portionsdepressed, the spring hooks squeezed away from the engagement portionsof the female buckle member toward each other.

[0009]FIG. 4 is an elevational view of a hair binder constructedaccording to the present invention.

[0010]FIG. 5 shows an application example of the hair binder shown inFIG. 4.

[0011]FIG. 6 shows the male and female buckle members of the bucklefastened to the bolt rings of a string of beads according to the presentinvention.

[0012]FIG. 7 is an exploded view of an alternate form of the presentinvention.

[0013]FIG. 8 is a sectional assembly view of FIG. 7.

[0014]FIG. 9 illustrates the use of the buckle with two eyebolts and astring of beads according to the present invention.

[0015]FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another alternate form of thepresent invention.

[0016]FIG. 1I is a perspective view of still another alternate form ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0017] Referring to FIGS. from 1 through 3, a buckle 1 is showncomprised of a male buckle member 11 and a female buckle member 12adapted to receive the male buckle member 11. The male buckle member 11comprises two spring hooks 114 forwardly extended from the front sideand substantially arranged in parallel, a mounting stub tube 111backwardly extended from the rear side and defining an axial hole 112,and a mounting ring 113 fixedly located on the rear side and suspendedin the screw hole 112 of the mounting stub tube 111. The spring hooks114 are reversed, i.e., the hooked front (free) ends of the spring hooks14 curve in revered directions. The female buckle member 12 comprisestwo engagement portions 125 bilaterally disposed at the front forengagement with the spring hooks 114 of the male buckle member 11, twospringy press portions 124 bilaterally disposed behind the engagementportions 125 for pressing by hand to disengage the spring hooks 14 fromthe engagement portions 125, a mounting stub tube 121 backwardlyextended from the rear side and defining an axial hole 122, and amounting ring 123 fixedly located on the rear side and suspended in thescrew hole 122 of the mounting stub tube 121.

[0018] Referring to FIG. 1 again, the mounting stub tubes 111 and 121each have two radially extended through holes 1131 or 1231 aligned attwo sides for the mounting of a cord member or the like.

[0019] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 and FIGS. from 1 through 3 again, thebuckle 1 is installed in the ends of an elastic cord member 2, forming ahair binder for binding the hair 4. The two ends of the elastic cordmember 2 are respectively inserted into the axial holes 112 and 122 ofthe mounting stub tubes 111 and 121 and fixedly secured thereto by glue.When the spring hooks 114 inserted into the female buckle member 12,they are forced into engagement with the engagement portions 125 andprohibited from backward movement relative to the female buckle member12, and therefore the buckle 1 is fastened up (see FIG. 2). Whenpressing the press portions 124 with the fingers, the spring hooks 114arc forced toward each other and disengaged from the engagement portions125, for enabling the male buckle member 11 to be separated from thefemale buckle member 12 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

[0020] Referring to FIG. 6, the buckle 1 can be used with a string 3 ofbeads 31. The string 3 of beads 31 has a bolt ring 32 disposed at eachof the two distal ends and respectively fastened to the mounting rings113 and 123 of the buckle 1.

[0021] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8 and FIG. 1 again, the mounting stubtube 111 or 121 of the buckle member 11 or 12 can be made having aninner thread 1121 or 1221 in the axial hole 112 or 122.

[0022] Referring to FIG. 9, two eyebolts 33 may be used to connect thebolt rings 32 of the string 3 of beads 31 to the mounting stub tubes 11and 121 of the buckle members 11 and 12 of the buckle 1. Each eyebolt 33has a threaded shank 332 at one end for threading into the inner thread1121 or 1221 of the mounting stub tube 111 or 121, and an eyelet 331 atthe other end for fastening to the bolt ring 32 at one end of the string3 of beads 31.

[0023]FIG. 10 shows an alternate form of the present invention.According to this embodiment, the male buckle member 11 and the femalebuckle member 12 each have a mounting hole 115 or 126 in the respectiverear side for fastening to the ends of a cord member 2.

[0024]FIG. 11 shows another alternate form of the present invention.According to this embodiment, the male buckle member 11 and the femalebuckle member 12 each have a mounting ring 111 or 127 in the respectiverear side for fastening to the bolt rings 32 of a string 3 of beads 31.

[0025] It is to be understood that the drawings are designed forpurposes of illustration only, and are not intended as a definition ofthe limits and scope of the invention disclosed.

What the invention claimed is:
 1. A buckle fastened to first and secondends of a cord member and adapted to join the first and second ends ofthe cord member, comprising: a male buckle member, said male bucklemember comprising two spring hooks forwardly extended from a front sidethereof and arranged in parallel, and a mounting stub tube backwardlyextended from a rear side thereof and fastened to the first end of thecord member; and a female buckle member, said female buckle membercomprising two engagement portions bilaterally disposed at a front forsecuring the spring hooks of said male buckle member upon insertion ofsaid male buckle member into said female buckle member, two springypress portions disposed at two opposite lateral sides for pressing byband to disengage said spring hooks of said male buckle member from saidengagement portions, and a mounting stub tube backwardly extended from arear side thereof and fastened to the second end of the cord member. 2.The buckle as claimed in claim 1, wherein said male buckle member andsaid female buckle member each further comprise a mounting ring fixedlylocated on the respective rear side and suspended in the respectivemounting stub tube.
 3. The buckle as claimed in claim 1, wherein themounting stub tubes of said male buckle member and said female bucklemember each have an inner thread.
 4. The buckle as claimed in claim 3,further comprising two eyebolts adapted to secure the mounting rings ofsaid male buckle member and said female buckle member to a respectivebolt ring at the first and second ends of the cord member.
 5. A bucklefastened to first and second ends of a cord member and adapted to jointhe first and second ends of the cord member, comprising: a male bucklemember, said male buckle member comprising two spring hooks forwardlyextended from a front side thereof and arranged in parallel, and amounting ring fixedly provided at a rear side thereof and fastened tothe first end of the cord member; and a female buckle member, saidfemale buckle member comprising two engagement portions bilaterallydisposed at a front for securing the spring hooks of said male bucklemember upon insertion of said male buckle member into said female bucklemember, two springy press portions disposed at two opposite lateralsides for pressing by hand to disengage said spring hooks of said malebuckle member from said engagement portions, and a mounting ring fixedlyprovided at a rear side thereof and fastened to the second end of thecord member.
 6. A buckle comprising; a male buckle member, said malebuckle member comprising two spring hooks forwardly extended from afront side thereof and arranged in parallel, a stub tube backwardlyextended from a rear side thereof, and a mounting ring suspended insidethe stub tube of said male buckle member for mounting; and a femalebuckle member, said female buckle member comprising two engagementportions bilaterally disposed at a front for securing the spring hooksof said male buckle member upon insertion of said male buckle memberinto said female buckle member, two springy press portions disposed attwo opposite lateral sides for pressing by hand to disengage said springhooks of said male buckle member from said engagement portions, a stubtube backwardly extended from a rear side thereof, and a mounting ringsuspended inside the stub tube of said female buckle member formounting.
 7. The buckle as claimed in claim 6, wherein the stub tubes ofsaid male buckle member and said female buckle member each have an innerthread.
 8. The buckle as claimed in claim 7 further comprising twoeyebolts for threading into the inner threads of the stub tubes of saidmale buckle member and said female buckle member for securing said malebuckle member and said female buckle member to a respective bolt ring atfirst and second ends of a cord member.
 9. A buckle comprising: a malebuckle member, said male buckle member comprising two spring hooksforwardly extended from a front side thereof and arranged in parallel,and an internally threaded stub tube backwardly extended from a rearside thereof; a female buckle member, said female buckle membercomprising two engagement portions bilaterally disposed at a front forsecuring the spring hooks of said male buckle member upon insertion ofsaid male buckle member into said female buckle member, two springypress portions disposed at two opposite lateral sides for pressing byhand to disengage said spring hooks of said male buckle member from saidengagement portions, and an internally threaded stub tube backwardlyextended from a rear side thereof; and two eyebolts for threading intothe internally threaded stub tubes of said male buckle member and saidfemale buckle member for securing said male buckle member and saidfemale buckle member to a respective bolt ring at first and second endsof a cord member.